Meta will pay up to $18 billion and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a sweeping agreement with nearly all U.S. states to resolve claims it designed those social media platforms to addict children.
The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial over allegations Meta‘s products harmed children and the company misled the public about their safety. Four of the states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — were expected to seek close to $200 billion in civil penalties.
While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how it serves young users.
It could provide a template for resolving thousands of other lawsuits against social media companies. Governments around the world are trying to curb children’s access to harmful online content, including a ban in Australia on social media for children under 16.
Political Glance
When Tim Brunner was at an auction barn earlier this week, he was surprised to see decent cows selling several hundred dollars cheaper than they were just a few weeks ago.
Democrats and other Donald Trump critics reacted incredulously to a New York Times report on Sunday that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, to discuss possible areas of collaboration.
Nashid Shakir describes how assailants used wire cutters to break into the Westwood Islamic Community Center in the early hours of 3 August.
The US Postal Service prepared to publish a final rule late on Friday to impose new requirements on states to provide the federal government with information on voters before the November midterm congressional elections, despite a pair of court orders that currently block the changes from taking effect.





























